Bonded
by dkAdeena
Summary: What if Heero and Duo weren't homosapiens but were descended from another descendant of homoerectus? They aren't normal males but are members of a race, born on earth, that looks like normal males. They can only mate with members of their own race.
1. Chapter 1

Category: Yaoi/Shounen ai  
Pairing: JxG, 1x2  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: None  
Spoilers: This will eventually follow the series.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. I'm just playing around with the characters. This disclaimer applies to all parts of this story.

Notes: This is a "before they met in the series" type story that will continue with interaction during the series and Endless Waltz, and maybe after that too -- I don't know because my muse hasn't told me yet.

Thank you to my wonderful commentors, Honor Demandoren and ShadowKano! You really helped me out.

Chapter Summary: It's been a month since G had given birth to his fifth child and J comes to visit.

/- blah blah -/ G's thoughts

* * *

October AC 180 

G had just finished feeding his month-old son when the lights flashed in the lab, signaling a visitor had arrived, but in such a way that the youngest person in the lab would not be disturbed if he was asleep – which he currently was. G carried his sleeping son to his cradle, and gently laid him down. Covering his son, G whispered to him, "Please Daniel, stay quiet. I fear your sire is here, and if he finds out that you live, he will take you away. I can**not** let that happen. He would make your life miserable."

Gently rubbing the small back one more time, G sighed. "I just wish I was really ready for this confrontation. It's a shame that our bond isn't as strong, or complete, as it should be. Maybe I was wrong to accept him all those years ago."

G slowly walked towards the other end of the lab once he knew his son was sound asleep. He was typing away at one of the computer terminals when J stormed into the lab, intent on confronting his bonded mate about the message he had received three weeks ago about their fifth child.

"What do you mean 'the child didn't survive'?" J roared at G as they stood facing each other in G's lab.

"Just what I said," G replied. /- I can't let him know this fifth child still lives. I can't let him ruin the child's life. -/ "Besides, **you** weren't here. You have no idea what happened. You didn't care to be here then, and I don't see why you're here now. You could care less if **I** live or die, as long as there is a living child."

"You are my bonded mate. Of course I care about you, but I wanted a living child of our own to train. It's a shame that even though you come from a long line of large families, you cannot produce a single living child," J growled back, moving menacingly towards G, placing his own hands on the computer G was at; and placing one of many bugs there at the same time.

"I'm not the only one providing genetic material you know," G replied, standing firm against his mate. "The problem could be you. Have you considered **that** yet? Do you think it's easy for me to carry these children and have them die so quickly?"

"There is no way I am at fault here. I checked my genetic material before I even considered you as a possible mate," J replied. "I had hoped this last child would survive. We have run out of time. Now I shall have to search out an orphaned child of our race to train." He sighed, took a deep breath, shrugged, and then stepped up to his mate. Hugging him fiercely J calmly continued, "This will be the last time I am able to see you for quite a while, no thanks to OZ. I will do my best to keep in touch with you, but, for now, fare thee well." He then turned and walked away, mumbling to himself about where he would start his search.

G watched as J walked out of the lab, then followed his progress, via security screens, through the building until he exited the front door and entered the car waiting for him. Waiting until he saw the car pull away, G sighed in relief.

At the sound of a baby's cry, G turned towards the darkened end of the room. /- My fifth son. Thank goodness you didn't cry out while he was here. -/ Smiling gently, he went to pick up his son from the cradle hidden behind the banks of computers.

"Hush now little one. Your sire has left. He believes you to be dead like your four unfortunate brothers." G gently rocked the small child until it quieted, unaware of the listening device J had placed in the lab. /- Maybe the reason this one still lives is because he is a bearer instead of a sire like his brothers.-/

Once the child had quieted, G walked to his office, summoning two of his assistants as he went. Once they were all in the office G gave his orders. "Anna, I need Daniel's food and diapers. Steven, gather a couple of technicians and do a bug sweep of everywhere J was today. We need to keep this place secure, and Daniel away from J. That man would destroy him without any second thoughts. He must not find out about Daniel; and if he does, he must not be allowed to get hold of him."

"Yes sir," they replied before leaving the room to attend to their tasks.

"Let us hope we find the bugs early enough to keep you safe Daniel," G whispered to his sleepy eyed son. Gently rocking the child, he waited for his two assistants to return, wondering if he would need to hide his son amongst the colonists, and hoping he wouldn't have to.


	2. To be Cruel to be Kind

Chapter Summary: It's been a three years since Daniel was born, and J has returned to try and take him away. What is G going to do?

/# blah blah #/ G's thoughts

* * *

April AC 183 

Years of planning in case J found out about Daniel had finally paid off. J was on his way to collect the boy but G was already putting his own plans into action. Anna, Daniel's main care taker, was going to take Daniel out into the colony where an assassin would take her life, insuring no one would know where the boy was. She didn't know about the assassin; she just thought she was to take the boy away until J got frustrated with waiting and left, then return with the boy to the lab. G truly regretted having to do this, but he knew his mate. **He** wouldn't leave unless there was no quick solution.

/# Now to put the plan in motion #/ G thought, carrying his son into the main lab where everyone was gathered.

"Anna, take Daniel out to the park by the church Father Maxwell is in charge of. Don't return until almost dinner time," G told the assistant who helped take care of his son. "We are going to have an unwelcome guest here in thirty minutes. If you wish Daniel to have a chance at a happy life, you will leave immediately."

"Yes sir," Anna replied, gathering Daniel, his bag and enough supplies to last the day, then left the building.

Five minutes after Anna left with Daniel, G placed an anonymous call. "They're on their way. Remember, don't kill the child."

"Understood," came the reply right before the line went dead.

Twenty minutes later, work in the lab was interrupted by the doors banging open and a loud voice hollering obscenities.

"You lied to me!" J screamed as he entered G's lab. "You told me our fifth child died at birth. Where is he?"

"I don't know. One of my assistants is watching him for me," G replied while thinking /# Thank goodness we found that bug when we did or he'd know exactly where our son is. I just hope Daniel can survive the streets of this colony. #/

"I **want** our son," J growled in G's face. "NOW!"

"Professor G! Professor G! Emergency!" yelled one of the many lab assistants as he rushed into the room the two scientists were in.

"What is it?" G asked, hoping it was the news about the assistant who was watching his son that day.

"Anna's been shot and Daniel is missing," the assistant replied, bending over and panting while trying to catch his breath.

"What!" J hollered, before turning to G and yelling, "You will find our child! I don't care what it takes! Find him!"

G just bowed his head, as if in acceptance of the order while secretly smiling, and waited once more for J to leave the building. Once certain that J had left without leaving any more listening devices or other surveillance equipment, G moved to his private office, signaling the assistant-turned-messenger to follow. Once inside the room G turned and addressed his assistant, "Will Anna survive?"

"No. She was found dead at the scene."

"Was there any trace of Daniel?"

"No, nothing was found. The local police aren't even going to investigate. They say it's not worth the time and effort to try to find every murderer on this colony."

"Then let us hope Daniel can survive in his new environment. Thank you for letting me know. You may leave now."

The assistant left and G turned to stare out the window. /# Good luck, my son. I know you will fare better on the streets of this colony than in your sire's hands. I hope to see you again someday. #/


	3. The Chat, Part 1

Chapter Summary: It's two years before Operation Meteor and G receives an email from J. He's coming to visit. What will G do now?

/# blah blah #/ G's thoughts  
/# _blah blah_ #/ Duo's thoughts

* * *

October AC 193 

"So you're coming to visit, huh?" G queried softly, studying the email he had received earlier that day. "Your orphan didn't take to any of the others, I guess. So now you bring him here, hoping to bond him and the lad I'm training. I sincerely hope it doesn't work. It would serve you right, you moron!"

G closed the email without replying. /# Let him wonder what kind of reception he'll get here. #/ Leaving the computer up, he left the room, intent on finding the boy he was training. After checking the computer lab and the gundam hanger, he entered the flight simulation room and found the boy, who called himself Duo Maxwell, just finishing a high level simulated fight.

"Duo," G spoke quietly. "I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Sure thing Doc," Duo replied, shutting down the simulator and turning to face G; giving him his undivided attention. "So, what's up?"

"Let's take this to my office," G answered. He left the room, heading back to his office, expecting Duo to follow; which he did. Upon reaching his office, G settled in a chair at the table, indicating Duo should as well.

"What'd you want to talk to me about?" Duo asked as he sat down across from G. /# _This had better be good. I've got a lot of work to do today, yet again._ #/

"Have you read your medical file?" G asked, gently tapping the only folder on the table. That folder contained all the information he had on the boy; including the DNA test results that indicated Duo was his missing son. /# How lucky can a man get? My own son sneaks aboard my ship. He's done well on his own. I just wish I didn't have to have this discussion with you **now**. #/

"Yeah," Duo replied, watching his mentor warily. "There's some really strange stuff in there. A lot of it matches the information on humans I've gotten from those medical books I've been studying this past year, but there's also some really weird stuff in there that I **think** means I can have kids."

"That is correct Duo. You aren't human as those books define it," G answered after a moment's thought. "You and I are of a different race. Quite a few of us exist alongside humans, as we can be mistaken as human. Our race does not have sexes as the humans know them, but there are differences in our race. You and I are what are commonly called bearers, as we can conceive and bear children. But to do so we must bond ourselves – body, heart, mind and soul – to one of the others, known as sires."

"Are you bonded? Did you have kids?"

"Yes, to both of your questions Duo," G replied with a sigh. "Unfortunately, my first four sons died before, or right after, birth. My fifth son disappeared when he was two and a half." /# Wish I could tell him he's my fifth son. #/

"I'm sorry," Duo stated, "but that isn't what you came to talk to me about, is it?" /# _That'd be just like him, interrupt my training for no good reason._ #/

"Partially," G smiled, listening to the tone of Duo's reply. "You needed a little background information so that you can understand the rest of what I have to tell you."

"What else is there that you haven't told me? And why now?"

"There's quite a bit more but I'll just give you the basics for now. As for why now, my bonded mate is coming to visit next week. He is bringing an orphaned child of our race with him. They are both sires and my mate has been trying to find someone to become the young one's mate."

"So?" Duo prompted after five minutes of silence on G's part. "Why are you telling me about them?"

"My mate is one of the other scientists involved in Operation Meteor. The child he is bringing here is the one **he** is training," G continued after another minute. "He had wanted to train our son but … anyway, my mate is hoping his trainee will take to you where he hasn't to any of the other trainees."

"So what do you want me to do?" Duo asked thoughtfully, nervously playing with the end of his braid. /#_ He can't really expect me to accept all this, can he? He's got something up his sleeve, but what?_ #/

"Be yourself," G answered promptly, "but don't say anything about what I've just told you. You'll be meeting them in the hanger when their ship arrives. Do you think you can handle that?" /# If he can't, he shouldn't be training to be a gundam pilot. #/

"Yeah," Duo answered, and then asked, "What if this kid decides he wants to bond with me? And how old is this kid?" /# _Guess I can go along with the old man for now. _#/

"He's around six months older than you," G replied. "As for bonding … **if** he asks you, you get to decide. If you decide to actually do the bonding at this time, I would suggest you only do a partial bonding."

"Partial? You mean there's different levels to this bonding stuff? What all's involved in this bonding business anyway?"

G sighed. He'd hoped he wouldn't have to explain all this yet. "For a full bonding, you **both** must commit totally to each other." /# Not like J did with me. His commitment only went so far. #/ "A partial bonding only unites the heart and mind of the pair. It's usually done around age ten. This usually gives the pair about eight years to get to know each other and decide if they want to continue. Unfortunately, neither of you were in the appropriate situation at the time …"

"Hmm … Is it possible to break the bond? You said I get to decide if he asks. That means I can say no, right? How long after a partial bonding takes place does the full bonding have to take place? Why do we have to bond in the first place?" Duo asked after absorbing what he'd been told so far. /# _That really didn't give me a lot of information. Am I gonna have ta drag the information outta him?_ #/

G's sigh this time was more emphatic but he still answered, knowing the boy needed the information. "A partial bonding can be dissolved, **if** both parties agree. A full bonding cannot, even by death." G held up his hand, forestalling Duo's outburst. "When one member of a fully bonded pair dies, the other quickly follows, even if there are young children. Sadly, this has caused a lot of orphaned children who do not understand who and what they are. We have people watching for these children. As soon as one is located, no matter what age they are, they are given all the information and support they need."

"I found you last year," Duo stated, confusion clearly written in his eyes. /# _What's with this guy? If I was supposed to be given this information at the time we met … _# / "Why did it take you so long to tell **me**?"

"I had hoped that I wouldn't need to say anything about this for another year," G answered, "but my mate is forcing the issue for his trainee." /# That creep! I wanted to spend more time getting to know my son before this happened. #/ "You have the right to say no and it cannot be denied. Because of your ages, if you agree to a partial bonding, you will have approximately four to five years to either dissolve the bond or complete it. The younger you are for a partial bonding, the longer you have, up to ten years."

"How do you know when time's running out?"

"A sire gets more withdrawn, from everything while a bearer gets more and more depressed."

"Oh."

"The reason why you have to bond depends on whether you're a sire or a bearer. A sire bonds so he can control his emotions – although sometimes it doesn't work as well as it should. For us, the bearers, we bond so we may have children, but more importantly, to stave off the intolerable depression that leads to suicide. A bearer that is not fully bonded cannot have children. This is a hard thing for us to deal with after we have reached our late teens and many have committed suicide because of it; whether they knew the cause of the depression or not."

"Okay," Duo drawled thoughtfully. "So you're telling me that if** I** don't bond I can't have kids and I'll eventually grow so depressed that I'll kill myself, right?" At G's nod, Duo continued, "This kid your mate is bringing is a sire and without a bonded mate he will have trouble controlling his emotions. This could cause a serious problem, along the lines of Jack the Ripper, right?" Again G nodded.

"Is there any side effects of this bonding?"

"Well, if both parties are truly committed to each other, even if only partially bonded, they will be able to tell when the other is injured and what the other is feeling. It will not be very strong when you first bond, but the longer you stay bonded the stronger it gets so that when you fully bond you'll be able to talk to each other no matter how far apart you are – or at least that's what I was told."

"Mind if I sleep on this and get back to you in a couple of days?" Duo asked around a yawn.

"Be my guest," G replied. "I will let my mate know that someone will meet them when they arrive, **if** he gives me his flight schedule that is. I won't tell him it will be you though."

They both stood and Duo left the room, heading for his bunk. G went back to his computer, silently preparing the email message he would be sending. /# Nothing but acknowledgement of his plan to visit and a request to know when he'll arrive. #/


	4. Breifing

Chapter Summary: J and his trainee (who will become known as Heero once the series starts) are about to have a briefing about the other four pilots.

/$ blah blah $/ J's thoughts  
/$ _blah blah_ $/ Heero's thoughts

* * *

Same day as the discussion between G and Duo 

The sound of his office door opening caused J to look up from the folders spread across the table in front of him. Four of them, three more than an inch thick while the fourth had only a single page inside – and that was just an email from his mate stating he had finally found a pilot candidate.

"Don't just stand there boy," J grated. "Get in here and sit down. We have a lot to do and only a small amount of time to do it in."

Seeing no need to reply, the one standing in the doorway entered and made his way over to the table where his mentor was seated. Seeing the folders lying on the table he let out a small sigh. /$ _ Why does he have those stupid folders out again? Wait, there's four of them this time._ $/

"I've updated the files on the pilot trainees from L3, L4 and L5 to reflect what we learned when we visited them," J stated. "I need you to go over them and let me know if I missed anything. There's a summary of changes at the beginning of each. Let's start with L3, shall we?" He pushed the smallest of the three thick folders across the table and sat back, awaiting a response.

The folder was opened and its contents scanned. The only sound in the room for the next few minutes was that of pages being turned. After a few silent minutes, the boy spoke, "I see nothing that needs to be corrected. It is as we observed."

"Is it not interesting," J started after a moment, "that this no name mercenary mechanic is doing as well, if not better, that Barton's own son?"

"The boy has been in and around mobile suits for as long as he can remember," the blue-eyed boy replied. "I would expect him to be better." /$ _Anyone would be better than Barton's son. Too bad whoever took out the son didn't take out the father._ $/ With that thought the boy closed the folder dealing with the L3 trainee and passed it back to his mentor.

"What about the boy on L4?" J asked, pushing that folder across the table.

"Your colleague there was lucky to find someone," the boy responded. "That colony is full of pacifists. With the Winner family being in control there, it's no wonder. I'm surprised the heir is the trainee."

"I was a little surprised myself," J agreed before leaning back in his chair again. "Did I miss anything that needs to be in that file?"

After several moments of only the sound of pages being turned, the file was closed and pushed back across the table. J raised an eyebrow in question when the boy made no comment about the file's contents.

"You have entered everything we found out there," the boy replied. "He is rather soft-hearted, but with all the business and political maneuvering he's learned as the heir, he could become quite a strategist." /$ _He was a sweet looking thing, better than the other two boys, but not what I want or need._ $/

"Good. I'll mention that in my next email to H," J stated, calmly pushing the third folder across the table. "And what about this one?"

The file was opened, the pages turned, the file closed and pushed back across the table before any other comments were made. "This could prove to be interesting," J's trainee commented. "Which of these two will actually be the pilot has yet to be determined. She would be the better fighter but he would be better all around. He'd get the job done where she would falter." /$ _Besides, he's the husband and according to their traditions, she should do as he tells her. _$/

"It's a shame O can't decide which one will pilot his machine," J said, accepting the folder back. Stacking the three folders, he continued, "maybe this war will decide for him."

"Your mate is on L2, correct?" At J's nod the thirteen-year-old boy continued, "What do we know about your mate's trainee?"

"Nothing," J responded. "We knew more about the boy on L3 than we do about my mate's trainee. All I know is that he's roughly six months younger than you, and has been training with my mate for a little over a year."

"No pictures or medical records?"

"If there are I haven't received them," J answered as he slid the thinnest folder he had across the table. "This is all I have on him. I don't even have a name to go by."

"Your mate is hiding something," J's trainee stated without hesitation.

"Possibly," J agreed. "We didn't exactly part on the best of terms the last time I saw him."

A silent, raised eyebrow greeted this statement; a query for more information which J answered after a couple of minutes.

"He had been hiding our fifth son from me for two and a half years. I had gone to get the boy, to train him as I have you, but somehow my mate found out and sent the boy off with one of his assistants before I got there. While we were arguing about the child, another one of his assistants came in and told us the child's caretaker had been shot and the child had disappeared. I told my mate to find the child but so far he has not succeeded."

"Are you sure the child still lives? If he was lost on the streets of L2 it's possible he is dead, from starvation or that plague that went through a few years ago."

"That is true," J replied, "but I still have hope that he still lives. Of five children, he was the only one to survive past birth. He's a survivor. I'm sure he's still alive somewhere."

"Hn," was all the response that J got as his trainee had turned his eyes, and brain, to the contents of the file in front of him.

Five minutes later, conversation between the two was resumed with another question by the trainee. "None of the other trainees were of our race. What makes you think this one will be?"

"A hunch. The way my mate phrased his email telling me he **had** a trainee," J replied after a moment's thought. Another raised eyebrow caused him to continue with "You read it, just now. He stressed the word 'feel' when he referred to his feelings about the boy."

"Feel?" came the skeptical question.

"Yes, feel," J replied. "You always know when I am approaching you, no matter how quiet I am, the same for me with you. There is a sense, or feeling if you will, that lets us know when another of our race is nearby."

"Is there a difference in the feel of a sire versus a bearer? What if this boy is another sire?"

"Yes, there is a difference," J answered, carefully watching his trainee, "but it is not something that can be described; it must be felt. I do not believe this boy will be a sire. My mate considers him as a son, gets along very well with him. This is not possible at the age you two boys are if he is an unbonded sire. Remember," J chuckled, "one of the other things my mate said about the boy was that** I** would not be able to train him."

"Why would he say that?" queried the boy. "Wouldn't you be able to train either sires or bearers?"

"No I wouldn't," J replied. "An unbonded bearer, whether he be your own child or not, will not get on well with a bonded sire. The same thing goes for an unbonded sire and a bonded bearer. There would be too much conflict, escalating to a point where the sire would try to kill the bearer."

"Is that why our people bond so young?"

"Yes, even if the newly bonded pair are separated for a few years between a partial bond and a full bond," J replied. "If, as I believe he is, this boy is an unbonded bearer, you will have one week to get to know him and decide if you want to bond with him. It won't be easy.

A thoughtful look appeared on the trainee's face at this statement. Another few quiet moments passed before the silence was broken once more. "What if I want to bond with him, but he rejects me?"

"You will have the week to convince him," J answered. "However, if he still decides he doesn't want to bond with you, we will have to find another candidate. Any more questions? We have two days before we leave for L2."

"Not now," came the curt reply followed by the swift closure of the file folder and its return across the table.

"Return to your training then. I will see you later," J dismissed his trainee from the meeting and his mind, barely noticing the boy's retreat from the room as his mind had drifted to thoughts of his mate and their missing child. /$ Could this boy be our missing son? Have you forgiven me, G? $/

* * *

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, this story follows the time line of the anime and manga. Thank you for all the reviews.


	5. The Chat, Part 2

Thank you to ShadowKano, acting PR person.

Thank you to those of you who have sent me comments.

Chapter Summary: Duo finds G to ask some more questions about their race the night before J and his trainee are scheduled to arrive.

/# blah blah #/ G's thoughts  
_/# blah blah_ #/ Duo's thoughts

* * *

Two days later, the evening before J and his trainee are scheduled to arrive 

Duo found G in the observation room, staring out the windows at the stars. Walking up beside the older man, Duo looked out the window, eating the last of the apple he had taken as part of his dinner, and said, "Are you looking for something out there?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," G replied. "I'm watching for my mate's shuttle. He did not give a specific time of arrival, so he could arrive tonight or tomorrow morning. Since I can't sense where he is, I have to use more mundane means of determining where he is."

"Can I ask you some questions?" Duo began, then hesitated before continuing. "About our race's background, I mean."

"Sure," G responded, moving to one of the couches facing the windows. Sitting down and indicating Duo should come sit with him, he added, "What do you want to know?"

"Well," Duo said, nervously playing with the end of his braid, "how did the bonding come about? I mean, when did the first bond happen, and how? How did it become common among our people?"

"We don't have very much, as far as written history goes," G began. "Most of our history is oral tradition. It's not wise, our people found out, to write our history and let humans find it – they have a tendency to call it fiction. Back in the time of the Spanish Inquisition we had to go underground, hiding our heritage, in order to survive and we lost ninety-nine percent of our written history."

"Man, that must have been rough," Duo interjected. /# _I wouldn't mind getting hold of any of those books. I love to read stuff like that._ #/

"It was," G smiled, "but not as rough as what is referred to as the beginning." G closed his eyes and relaxed, then started the traditional oral beginning of their race.

# # # Begin Story # # #

A long time ago, so the story goes, our people lived in a secluded northern valley. There were many villages in this valley. At the time this story begins, there were males and females, like those known now as humans. A small percentage of the males could conceive and bear children, an adaptation necessary, as there were many more males than females among the population.

There was not much contact with those outside the valley. The terrain around the valley was very dangerous and we did not need much that we could not produce ourselves.

One day, a very ill female from the outside entered our valley. She died within days but whatever illness she had, she managed to pass it on to the females of the village where she was being treated. The effects/symptoms of the illness did not show right away, but it was very contagious. Females from the first village visited the other villages, unknowingly spreading the disease throughout the valley. Within two seasons all the females were dead. This did not cause a major problem in the valley, at the time, because of all the males who could bear children.

A couple years after the last female died the son of a village leader, we will call him Alpha, started to get very violent – emotionally and physically. He was what we've come to call a sire. He had a best friend, a bearer whom we'll call Beta, who was a couple weeks younger than him that became very concerned. One day, after an extremely violent episode – that resulted in quite a few deaths – Beta took Alpha out to the woods near their village.

They returned after two days. For the next two moons the only time Alpha became violent was if another sire came anywhere near Beta. On the night of the second full moon, a group of sires managed to separate Alpha from Beta and dragged Beta off to the forest, where they were going to use Beta to relieve their frustrations.

Before they had a chance to do more than strip Beta, Alpha was attacking, and killing, them. It did not take long, although there were between eight and ten – the stories differ in that number but nothing else.

When the two returned to the village, they consulted with Alpha's father, telling him what had come to pass in the previous two moons. They spoke of a four-line chant that mentioned joining body, mind, heart, and spirit, and how it seemed they could feel each other's emotions, tell where the other was, and sometimes hear the other in their head. They spoke of the violent emotional outbursts of Alpha and the dark depression of Beta and how both had changed since that night. They called it "bonding" but they were not sure if it was just them or if others in the valley could do the same.

What they did not mention was that they had been sexually involved many moons before the bonding but Beta had not conceived until after the bonding, when they had again engaged in sexual intercourse. This was brought to light a couple moons later when it became obvious that Beta was pregnant.

Alpha's father decided to try an experiment. He gathered the most emotionally violent sires and the most depressed bearers in the village and had Alpha and Beta tell their story of bonding. Then the young men were told to pair off with someone they were at least friends with; preferably their current sexual partner, if such existed. The experiment worked, so the procedure was repeated throughout the valley.

In the years following, matches were made between villages and they experimented with age differences between partners. It was found that the closer in age the partners were, the stronger the bond. The best pairings were found to be where the age difference was from a couple weeks to six months. It did not matter which one was older, the sire or the bearer.

After centuries of pairing at the start of the emotional violence, the valley elders decided to try bonding bearers and sires at younger ages. They found that thirteen years was the minimum to produce children.

They also attempted partial bondings and found that the only partial that worked was heart and mind. Then they experimented with ages and found that ten years was the minimum for a partial bond and that if bonded at that young age, a pair could go eight to ten years before bonding fully.

During the centuries after bonding became the norm, it was found that if either partner in the bonded pair died, the other one died within hours. They tried rebonding the surviving partner but the bond never took. So it became the norm for other bonded couples to take in, and care for, the orphaned children. It was also during that time that the problems between unbonded children of bondable age and their elder bonded opposites came to light.

There was still some interaction with those outside the valley, so the advancements of the world outside the valley made their way into the valley. Eventually, the population grew too much for the valley to hold; so small groups left the valley and started new villages, sometimes with members of the human race in the same village.

# # # End Story # # #

"And that's how it's been for many centuries now," G finished, opening his eyes and looking at Duo. "Any questions, about the story that is?"

"Can we produce children with the females of the humans?" Duo asked. "Our race originally had females, so shouldn't we be able to now?"

"Sadly, no," G replied. "It has been tried many times over the centuries since we moved out of the valley, but it has never succeeded. The male who tries, depending on whether he be a bearer or a sire, inevitably either kills her and then himself, or just kills himself. The need for the bond has become too ingrained in our race, and the females of the human race just cannot provide that bond. Any others?"

"Not about the story," Duo replied after a thoughtful moment. "I do have some questions about you and your mate, though."

"What are they?" G asked, sighing in either regret or exasperation is unknown, when Duo didn't continue right away.

"Well," Duo hesitated, but then gathering his courage, he continued. "You've mentioned that, when bonded, either member of the pair should be able to sense, and even hear, the other member of the bond twice now. Can you do that?"

"No, my mate and I cannot hear each other's thoughts," G replied after a moment. "I consider that to be a mixed blessing."

"Why? Wouldn't you rather be able to hear him?"

"Yes, I would," G answered, "but then the entire situation with, and about, our fifth son would have been different. As it is, J didn't know our son had survived past birth until after he had arrived back at his lab on L1. So, as you can see, there's good points and bad points to our bond being the way it is. I can still **feel** when he's near, especially if he's about to enter the room I'm in. Although the feel of a sire entering the room is slightly different from the feel of a bearer entering the room." This last statement was said in a thoughtful tone.

"What do you mean by feel? Can it be disguised?" Duo asked. "It could cause problems during a mission if there was someone able to tell I was there."

"I can't describe it," G answered thoughtfully. "You'll just have to experience it. You already know when I'm around and other bearers will feel the same to you. As for disguising it, I've never heard of a way, but we can work on it, after my mate and his trainee have left. You're right in that it could cause problems during a mission."

"If I accept this sire your mate is bringing, will we be able to hear each other?"

"If you both totally commit yourselves to each other," G responded. "My mate never completely committed himself to our relationship. I hope, for your sake, that my mate's trainee does better by you than my mate did by me." /# I think that may have been why so many of our children didn't survive, and why we only had five in the first place. #/

"Do you think he will?" Duo asked. "The trainee, I mean. Your mate **is** the one training him, after all."

"I think **you** will have more influence on my mate's trainee, in the long run, than my mate will," G replied with a smile. "You have exactly what that poor boy will need to balance out what my mate will have done to him. Now, it's time for you to go to bed. We will have a busy day tomorrow, dealing with our visitors and your regular training. Good night Duo."

After standing up and heading for the door, Duo replied around a yawn, "Good night doc. I'll see you at breakfast."

/# Good night my son. I hope you have received enough information to deal with those two come tomorrow. #/ G rose and looked out the window once more before turning and leaving the room to go to his own bed, a whispered statement the only thing left in the room. "You never did make things easy for us, did you J? I hope that, for their sakes, these two young ones can make it through this war. There is so much more than fighting to live for. It's a shame you never saw that."


	6. And now they meet

Chapter Summary: J and his trainee have arrived. Time for first impressions. What will they think of each other?

/# blah blah #/ G's thoughts   
/# _blah blah_ #/ Duo's thoughts  
/$ blah blah $/ J's thoughts  
/$ _blah blah_ $/ Heero's thoughts

* * *

Sweeper ship hanger, J's shuttle has arrived 

"Hanger's pressurized kid. You can go greet the doc's guests now," the technician at the board next to him said.

"Thanks man," Duo replied, standing and moving through the now open door to the hanger. Carefully making his way towards the shuttle, he was glad to see the air lock open and two people make their way to the hanger floor.

As he looked the two visitors over, Duo was careful not to let anything of his thoughts show on his face.

/# _That **has** to be G's mate. I hope he was better looking when he was younger. Now the guy **with** him … nice looks, probably look better if he smiled. Wonder what he's like. Will he like me? Hey! Wait a minute! Where'd that come from? Ooops! Time to get to work._ #/

"Hi. G sent me to guide you around the ship," Duo smiled at the two visitors. "Do you want the tour first or straight to G's lab?" /#_ Man, G was right. There is a definite aggressive feel to these two._ #/

"G's lab, **if** that's where he is right now," the older man, whom Duo assumed was G's mate, answered. "I need to talk to him right away." /$ Is G trying to insult me, sending this ill-mannered child instead of meeting me himself. $/

"Whatever you say," Duo replied, turning around and heading back the way he'd come, adding at the last minute, "If you'll follow me please?" /# _What is **with** that guy? Is he always that irritating? I hope the guy with him isn't like that._ #/

Without a word the two visitors followed Duo out of the hanger and down the hall.

/$ I can see what G meant about me not being able to train the boy, if this is his trainee. $/ J thought, absently noting the path they were taking. /$ He doesn't seem to be serious about anything. He **is** a bearer though. $/

/$ _Is **this** the boy J wants me to bond with? J's lost his mind! There's no way I'll be able to deal with this boy! Although, he **has** got a gorgeous body, and those eyes … and that hair! Wait! What **am** I thinking? I must **not** be thinking._ $/ J's trainee gave himself a shake and told himself to watch where they were going, **not** their guide. Too bad his eyes didn't follow his command – they kept right on looking over their guide, top to bottom and back again.

Duo felt eyes on him all the way to the lab adjacent to the flight simulation room he'd spent half the morning in. He'd wanted to turn around and tell the two behind him to stop staring quite a few times, but had told himself no; that they needed to watch him to see where they were supposed to go, but did they have to stare?

He finally stopped beside a door with a lock. Typing in the combination he said, "This is where G told me he would be this morning. Let me see if he's still here." Stepping through the door Duo hollered "Hey Doc! You in here?" Spotting G at the far end of the room when he looked up at Duo's call, Duo started across the room, beckoning the two visitors to follow him, calling as he went, "Doc, your visitors are here."

G turned and waited for them to approach within speaking distance before saying "Hello J. Duo, have you finished yesterday's task yet?"

"Yes and no," Duo replied. "Yes, it's finished but no, I'm not done with it. It's not running as fast as it could be and I'm trying to fix it. If you don't need me for anything else, I'd like to get back to it."

"Go ahead," G replied after a glance at J, "and take this young man with you. He might be able to help you find the problem. We'll be in my office until dinner, if either of you need anything."

"Sure thing," Duo laughed, turning away and grabbing J's trainee's arm. Tugging the arm gently he said "Come on. I need to get this done before we can do anything else."

After the two boys left the room, G turned to J and indicating the door opposite the one the boys had left through said "This way. It's not that far." /# Let's see if you can apologize for that last visit. #/

As they walked down the hallway G kept his back to J and said not a word, not even when they reached to door to his office; he only opened the door and walked through, not really caring if the other followed.

"What is so important that you would skip a tour of this place J?" G asked, moving to the window but keeping his back towards his visitor. "That is **very** unlike you."

"Is there a problem with wanting to be alone with my mate?" J asked in return. Moving to stand behind G, he continued, "Besides, I wanted to ask your forgiveness for my behavior the last two times I visited you."

"Is that all?" G asked, not really believing the words J had said. "It sounds to me like you want my help with bonding your trainee and mine. Too bad. I've already talked to Duo about the whole thing. He knows it's his decision to make no matter **what** your boy tries."

"My boy won't try anything," J replied with a sigh. "He knows the rules and he will abide by them." Taking the last step he needed, to be right behind G, J reached out and wrapped both arms around his mate. Leaning forward just enough for his breath to reach the other's ear he whispered, "I **am** sorry for the way I acted the last two times I saw you. Please, let me make it up to you."

G removed the arms from around his waist and stepped away before saying, "Maybe another time, when I'm feeling a little more generous. Right now I'd like to know what was so important that you skipped the tour of this ship to come talk to me." /# I know it wasn't because you actually **care** about me. #/

"What do you mean G?" J asked, turning as if to follow. "I came to see you. To see how you were doing. Of course I'd skip the tour. I'm more interested in you than this ship." /$ Of course, information on the boy you're training would be nice. Is he, by any chance, our missing son. $/

"You don't fool me J," G responded angrily, walking over and sitting down in front of his computer. After closing a couple of files he continued, "You came here for two reasons. One, your trainee needs a mate to remain emotionally stable, and two, you had to check on my progress for Operation Meteor. The simple fact that I'm you mate had nothing to do with it."

"You're wrong G," J replied, moving to stand behind G once more. Placing his hands on G's shoulders he continued, "Yes, those are valid reasons for my visit, but you forgot checking on the progress of the search for our fifth son and seeing you. The last one is the most important to me."

/# Yeah, right. I don't believe that for a minute. You're only concerned about the mission. That's all that matters to you. #/ G thought while shutting down the computer. Sighing heavily inside, G calmly said, "Ask your questions J. I reserve the right to answer or not per my discretion. After that we can discuss how you can 'make it up to me' for what you did the last two times you were here."

/$ Guess I'd better make this quick. I've **got** to convince him that I'm sorry. $/ J thought before asking, "Your trainee is a bearer. How did you meet him? What do you know about his background? Does he know who his parents are?"

"He stowed aboard my ship," G answered in a clipped tone, shrugging J's hands off his shoulders. "He doesn't remember having parents." /# **I** know who they are but I'm not telling him, and I'm **definitely** not telling **you**. #/

"Can you tell me anything **interesting** about him?" J asked, slightly peeved that his normally talkative mate was hardly saying anything without it being dragged out of him.

"I could," G said, standing and moving to look out the window once more, all without looking at J even once.

After a couple minutes of silence J quietly asked, "Would you? Please?"

/# I got a **please** out of him. Guess I **could** tell him something about Duo. #/ G thought sarcastically before answering in as close to an emotionless voice as he could get, "He's an orphan from L2. He survived the plague, losing his first teacher – who taught him everything he knows about stealth and thievery. He also survived the Maxwell Church Massacre. He's intelligent and a quick learner. He's been with me for about a year and he's doing things your boy is just now learning. He reads anything and everything he can get his hands on, and remembers **all** of it. Now, is there anything else you want to know?"

J sighed heavily before walking up behind his mate for the third time since they'd entered the room. He lifted his arms, as if to wrap them around the man in front of him but stopped when he saw the reflection of his mate's cold stare in the window. Letting his arms drop to his sides he said, "Just one more thing …"


	7. Ooops! I did not need to see that!

Notes: This chapter has a foreshadowing of what Duo might have seen when he opened the door on Libra and found the five doctors.

Chapter Summary: Duo and J's trainee go off to the room J's trainee will be using during his stay.

/# _blah blah_ #/ Duo's thoughts

/$ _blah blah_ $/ Heero's thoughts

* * *

"I'll show you to the room you'll be staying in while you're here. There's a terminal there that I can use while you make yourself comfortable," Duo said as they left the lab and headed towards the visitors' rooms. They traveled in silence for a few minutes until … 

"What's your name?"

"Huh?" the question shocked Duo out of his thoughts on the code that was his current task.

"I asked what your name was? Did you not hear me?"

"Not really," Duo answered. "I was thinking about the problem in my code and I guess I blocked you out. Sorry. My name is Duo Maxwell. What's yours?"

"I don't have one. I can't remember ever having one," J's trainee responded with a trace of sadness in his voice.

"Any ideas on what you'd like me to call you? It's not exactly polite to keep calling you things like 'kid' and 'hey you'. I don't like being called things like that so I won't do it to someone else," Duo said in reply, feeling sorry for the other boy. "Think about it and let me know when we get to your room, okay?"

"Hn" was all the reply Duo got so he went back to contemplating his problem code.

Minutes later Duo stopped beside another door and said, "Here we are. There is no lock on the door but as long as it's closed no one will bother you."

"You leave doors open when you occupy a room?"

"Not always. Only when you don't mind anyone and everyone visiting you," Duo answered. "I really wouldn't know. I sleep with the mechanics in a dorm room and most of the other rooms I use have coded locks on the doors." With a shrug of his shoulders Duo opened the door before waving his companion through and quickly following. "Anyway, I've never had a room to myself that I can remember. The bathroom is through that door. You'll be sharing it with, what was his name, J, right? Yeah, you'll be sharing the bathroom with him. His room is to the right when you walk out of this one. Make yourself comfortable while I get back to work on my code."

Duo pulled a disk out of one of his pant's pockets and sat down at the desk, in front of the computer that he had turned on as soon as he walked into the room. Once the machine had finished booting up, he put the disk in and started up his editing program. By the time he found the problem section of code another chair had been drawn up to the desk, on the side nearest the door.

The words "you choose" startled Duo, causing him to jump. He had totally forgotten there was someone in the room with him. Turning to face his companion he said, "Come again?"

"I said, you choose" came the reply.

"Hmm" Duo hummed as he studied his companion. "Alright. Since I don't know you very well I'll give you three choices. You pick the one you like best. Okay?"

"Fine."

"Your choices are: gorgeous, blue eyes, and angel. That's the best I can do until I know you better."

"I'm no angel and since gorgeous describes you better, I guess it will have to be blue eyes. What's the problem with the code?"

Duo blinked at the change in topic. /# _ Keeping up with this guy's gonna be hard._ #/ "Uh … the code? Oh, this section is causing the function to not respond as quickly as I need it to. It's slowing the system response time down."

"Show me."

Over the next hour the two boys went over the code. They found a couple other sections of the code that they managed to improve besides the original problem area. They might have found a couple more but they were interrupted by Duo's stomach.

"Guess it's time to go find something to eat," Duo said as he saved the code and started shutting down the computer. "Let's go give this to G and then go get something to eat. Come on Blue Eyes" as he headed for the open door, J's trainee quickly following.

Minutes later the two boys were standing outside G's office. Duo pressed the buzzer, letting anyone inside know there was someone outside wanting in. After a minute with no response Duo entered the code to unlock and open the door. Sticking his head through the door he called "Doc! You in here? I got" Pulling his head back out just as quickly he turned to the other boy and said, "I **so** did not need to see that!"

A minute later G stepped into the doorway, clothes slightly askew. "You needed something Duo?"

"Yeah Doc. Here's that code," Duo replied, turning bright red, as he held out the disk. "Do you think you could get it loaded before dinner? I'd like to try it out tonight, if that's alright."

"No problem Duo," G replied, taking the disk. "Go get something to eat, and take him with you. Then go hit the books. I'll quiz you on what you've been studying tomorrow morning."

Duo reached out and grabbed hold of the other boy's arm and started dragging him back the way they had come while calling over his shoulder, "No problem Doc. See you in the morning."

Once around the corner, Duo stopped. Dropping to the floor, he pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face against his knees, then he started mumbling something that the other boy couldn't quite hear.

After a minute Duo felt a hesitant touch on his shoulder. He raised his head and looked at the other boy. "What?"

"Can we go get something to eat? I'm getting a bit hungry."

"Sure thing," Duo replied, getting to his feet once more and heading down the corridor.

"What was that all about?"

"What?"

"Back at the office. What did you see?"

"Something really disturbing," Duo answered curtly. Holding up a hand to forestall any comments or questions he continued, "I don't want to talk about it. In fact, I don't want to even think about it. Let's just get lunch, then we'll go to my study room."

A "Hn" was heard but nothing else, so the two boys went and got their lunch and then went off to spend the rest of the day together.


	8. Night Time Discussions

Thank you to those of you who have sent me comments.

Chapter Summary: Bedtime the first night of the week J and his trainee are spending with G and Duo.

* * *

J walked down the hall, heading towards the room he'd be using during his stay, mumbling to himself. He didn't think his mate would have security watching his every move but, then again, he hadn't thought his mate would make him sleep halfway across the ship either. "Why can't I sleep next to him? We've been mated for years now and the first chance I have to spend more than a couple hours with him he tells me my room is on the other side of the ship from his. What is his problem anyway? I apologized for my previous behavior. That should be enough, even for him. I'll just check up on my boy then go to bed."

J stopped beside the door of the room next to his and knocked. He didn't wait for an answer before opening the door and entering.

- - - - - - - - -

J's trainee was in his room preparing to retire for the night when J knocked on his door. Before the boy could call to inquire who was there, the door opened and J walked in. His eyes scanned the room, quickly locating the boy within. He moved over to the desk and sat down in one of the two chairs before it. Once seated, he asked, "The boy you spent the day with, what do you think of him?"

"Duo?" J's trainee queried in reply, settling himself on the bed while wondering why his trainer was in his room and not his own or his mate's.

"If that is his name, then yes, him," J returned.

"He's … different, but he interests me."

"Different? Explain," J said, curious but not letting it show in his voice.

J's trainee hesitated, collecting his thoughts before saying, "He gives the appearance of a fool, a joker, but he's not. That code he was working on is incredible. He wrote a good bit of it himself, and the only training he's had with computers is what he's had here."

"G claims he's very intelligent," J commented when the boy stopped. "He also says the boy is good at stealth and thievery. Says he found that out when the boy stowed aboard his ship."

"I can believe that," J's trainee said slowly, almost thoughtfully. "He's quick with his hands, but rather quiet when he moves, almost as if he doesn't want anyone to know he's there."

"Anything else?" J asked after a moment of silence.

"We didn't talk about much," J's trainee answered, "except the code we were working on. After we dropped that off, we discussed the astrophysics he was studying."

After a couple more minutes of silence J asked, "Did you mention anything about our race?"

"No," came the immediate answer. "I didn't think it was necessary, as you and I had already established that he is a bearer. Did your mate mention if Duo was bonded or not?"

"Not directly," J answered after a moment's thought. "What he didn't say, and he would have, was that the boy was bonded, so I would have to say he is available, should you decide you want him."

"I intend to get to know him a little better before making that decision," J's trainee responded, before yawning widely. "I told Duo I would meet him for breakfast. I'd like to go to sleep now."

J watched his trainee lie down on the bed and pull the covers up to his chin before getting up and walking to the door. He opened the door, turned off the light, and then walked out. Before the door closed completely the boy heard a quiet "Good night."

- - - - - - - - - -

In a barracks-type room elsewhere on the ship, at the same time the above conversation was taking place, a similar one was also occurring. G was standing in the doorway, talking to a very excited Duo, who was sitting on his bunk less than three feet from the door. He'd had lots of practice understanding his somewhat hyper son, and had no difficulty steering the conversation in the direction he wanted it to go.

"So, what do you think of them?" G asked, wanting to hear what Duo thought of **his** sire more than what he thought of the younger sire.

"He's perfect! Gorgeous!" Duo replied enthusiastically.

"I gather you're talking about the younger one," G smirked knowingly, still watching the body language of his charge. "And the older one?"

"I didn't spend a lot of time with him," Duo replied thoughtfully, "and I really don't want to. He's not very friendly. He makes me want to punch him, or play pranks on him until he gets a sense of humor."

"So, your first impression of J was?" G queried, having guessed already what it was, but wanted to hear it anyway. Just one more thing he could tell J when he finally told him Duo was their son, which wouldn't be for quite some time to come, maybe never if he had his way. Although, he'd eventually have to tell Duo but he'd wait as long as he could before he did.

"He's a jerk," came the unsurprising reply from Duo. "I really wish he was already gone. How you ever became his mate, especially if he was like this when you first bonded with him, I'll never understand."

"And his trainee?" G asked while silently smirking to himself about Duo's comment since **he** still had problems figuring out how they became mates at times.

"Eye candy! A little stiff. Definitely needs help in the humor department, but MAN!" Duo replied quickly, rolling his eyes and licking his lips appreciatively.

"So, have you decided what your answer will be if he asks you to bond with him?" G asked, again having guessed the answer but wanting to hear it anyway.

"Yeah," Duo answered after a yawn. "I've decided I'll accept him. We're meeting for breakfast, so good night Doc. See you after breakfast."

"Good night Duo," G said as he left the room. As he walked towards his own room he mumbled to himself, "Guess your boy found his mate J. That is, if your boy wants him. I hope for Duo's sake he does, or there could be real problems once Operation Meteor starts, especially if they end up paired up for any missions."


	9. Realization

Thank you to those of you who have reviewed and/or sent me comments.

Chapter Summary: Duo has a breakdown. Blue Eyes, or J's trainee if you will, gets to comfort him and get an explanation from J as to why the breakdown occurred.

/# blah blah #/ J's thoughts  
/# _blah blah_ #/ Heero's thoughts

* * *

The next four days saw the boys together from breakfast to bedtime. They shared meals and training activities, but did little to no talking or touching outside of what was required to complete the activities. This proved to be very trying for Duo, whose background left him with a need for physical contact and a fear of silence. 

While the boys shared activities, G and J watched them. J managed to gain a little more background information on Duo from G. As the days passed, they noticed the lack of touching and the minimal talking, which started G worrying. J noticed his mate's agitation, and when confronted, J's mate voiced his concerns. It was almost too late.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, in the study room, Duo lost all semblance of control. With tears threatening to spill from his eyes at any second, he ran out of the room. J's trainee was quick to follow, although he did not try to stop the fleeing boy.

Within minutes they were at the door to the lab Duo had led them to the first day. Duo opened the door and ran through, not caring if he interrupted something like he had at the office that first day. Luckily nothing was going on between the two scientists, except a technical discussion, so Duo ran straight to G. Duo managed to wrap his arms around G and bury his face in G's chest just as he lost all control over the tears. G looked down, shocked at what he was seeing and hearing, before he wrapped his own arms around Duo and started trying to calm him down.

J's trainee stopped right beside J, who looked at him and said, "What happened?"

"I don't know. One minute we're sitting quietly across a table from each other, studying. The next he's in tears and running from the room. I followed."

"Why?" J asked.

"I needed to make sure he was uninjured."

"Why?" J asked again, with a touch more curiosity.

"I'm not sure. I didn't even think about it. I just felt the need to follow him."

J nodded thoughtfully as he looked across the room at his mate and the boy. After a moment's thought he said, "Go over there and take over calming him down. If I'm right, he'll settle down quickly for you."

"Why?"

"I'll explain later," J answered evasively. "Just go," and gave his trainee a push towards the crying boy. /# You had better move boy. If you don't get this straightened out, my mate will have my hide. #/

G watched as the other boy approached. G looked at J, who nodded at the boy who was now standing in front of the pair. G looked down at J's trainee, then at Duo, then back at J's trainee, who reached hesitantly for Duo. G gently removed Duo's arms from his waist, turned Duo around and gently pushed him towards the other boy; who quickly moved forward, wrapping his arms gently around Duo, pulling him close enough for Duo to bury his face in the boy's shoulder. Less than a minute passed before Duo's tears slowed down. Within minutes the tears had stopped completely and Duo became dead weight in the other boy's arms, having fallen asleep.

G watched as J's trainee shifted Duo around so he could pick him up. Once the boy had Duo comfortably cradled in his arms G spoke up. "Take him to your room and stay with him. And whatever you do, don't let go of him."

Not understanding, but not really caring to, J's trainee nodded his head, turned and walked out of the lab.

"Looks like your boy's found his mate," G said as he crossed the room to stand in front of J. "You might want to go explain this to him **before** Duo wakes up. Duo hasn't been sleeping well the last couple nights so you should have enough time."

"What about you explaining to Duo?" J asked.

"Don't have to," G grinned as he turned back towards the computers.

"Why not?"

"Duo's been waiting for **your** boy to speak up. He made **his** decision before you two had been here twelve hours. Now go talk to your boy," G replied with a laugh as he went back to the work that Duo's abrupt entrance had interrupted.

J gave his laughing mate a glare that would have fried him completely, if it had been a beam of fire, before turning and leaving the lab to go speak with his trainee. He didn't bother knocking on the door; he just opened it and walked in. He quickly located the boys, on the bed with his trainee propped up with pillows against the headboard, gun locked on the open space between the door and the wall, with Duo stretched out beside him, nearer to the wall, using his chest as a pillow.

"Put the gun down boy," J said, making his presence known before he was shot at. "I'm not here to hurt either of you."

J waited until he heard the click of the gun's safety before he moved further into the room. He shut the door, then walked over and sat in the chair closest to the bed.

"Why are you here?"

J almost laughed. "I told you I would explain later what was going on, didn't I? I'm here to do that, but I need to ask you a few questions first."

J noticed that, although his trainee was paying proper attention to him, the boy was gently rubbing his 'off' hand up and down Duo's back. J was brought back to the discussion at hand by a quiet clearing of the throat.

"Uh … yes … let me see," J gathered his scattered wits. "First, I asked you that first night what you thought of him. I'm asking again now, after being with him these past few days."

"He still interests me. I want to get to know him better. If you're asking if I'd be willing to bond with him, the answer is yes."

"Have you talked with him about anything not training related?"

"No. Should I have?" came the reply, the confusion inside starting to show on the boy's face. /# _ Is he ever going to get to the reason why Duo calmed so quickly and why his mate told me to keep some form of contact with Duo?_ #/

"It's one way of getting to know someone," J replied, careful to keep his expression neutral. "Were you going to ask him to bond with you?"

"I was going to ask him tomorrow morning and, if he agreed, do the actual bonding tomorrow night. That way, we would have one whole day as a bonded pair before you and I left," came the wordy reply, the look of confusion rapidly growing. "I don't understand what this has to do with his tears, me calming him down, and the two of us staying in physical contact."

/# Just one more question and then I'll explain what I can. #/ J thought, sighing heavily before asking his last question. "Have you tried moving away from him since you put him on the bed?"

J's trainee shook his head and said, "Didn't want to. I ** like** having him where he is. And his name is Duo."

J noticed Duo starting to move, as if he were waking up. He stood and moved the chair closer to the side of the bed and sat back down before reaching out to move his trainee's free hand to rest on top of Duo's head. "I believe we were talking a little too loudly," J said, as he watched Duo settle once more. /# Can't have the boy waking too soon. I just hope he stays asleep long enough for me to get this done. #/

"**Now** will you explain what is going on?"

J heaved another sigh, wishing for a less obtuse trainee. "When we visited the other three scientists and their trainees you told me you couldn't feel them the way you can feel me, and now my mate and his trainee, correct?" At the boy's nod, he continued, "My mate informed his trainee," he coughed and corrected himself when he noticed the glare he was getting. "Duo, about our race and the possibility of you wanting to bond with him three days before we arrived, so Duo knew there was a reason why we were here, unlike the other three boys. Your not speaking of bonding with them I understand. You knew he was of our race and that his mentor was my mate. I assumed you would realize that he would know of the possibility of bonding and would discuss this with him."

J's trainee hung his head at this statement but did not stop his hands – one gently caressing Duo's back, the other gently massaging Duo's temple and forehead.

"Your not speaking to him about this issue and, from what I saw of your interactions, not touching him other than what was absolutely required, appears to have led him to believe you were rejecting him. From what G has told me of Duo's background, this rejection from you would cause him to do exactly what he did – find the only source of affection he knew. Your following him, to make sure he was uninjured, showed me you were interested. Your reaching for Duo, to comfort and protect him, showed my mate that what Duo thought was incorrect; you weren't rejecting him, you just hadn't spoken up yet."

"So why did Duo calm down so fast, once I had hold of him? Why did your mate tell me to not let go of him?"

"As any bearer, Duo is sensitive to emotional projection. What were you feeling right before you wrapped your arms around Duo? And be honest about it," J replied, carefully watching his trainee's face.

After a couple of minutes of thoughtful silence J heard the reply he'd hoped for. "I wanted to be the one he ran to. I wanted to hold him, comfort him, protect him. I was also a little jealous of your mate; since he was the one Duo had run to. Are you trying to tell me that Duo sensed all that?"

J nodded. "That, and more. That's why he calmed down so quickly. The reason G told you to not let go of him is related to his early life. It appears that Duo did not receive many signs of affection before he started training with G. Duo needs the reassurance that comes with physical contact, and from your earlier statement, you need the contact as well."

"Hmm."

"I suggest you ask him to bond with you as soon as he wakes up," G's voice floated into the room through the opening door. He walked over to the desk and placed the tray he'd brought down before saying, "I brought you boys some food. It's all cold stuff so it will keep until Duo wakes up. I trust J has explained things to you."

"To a point, but I understand enough to know Duo won't turn me down when I ask him."

"True," G replied. "Come on J. Let's leave these boys alone and go get something to eat."


	10. Starting out

Thank you to those of you who have sent me comments.

Chapter Summary: Duo wakes up and Blue Eyes asks the question. What will Duo say?

/# _blah blah_ #/ Duo's thoughts

* * *

Less than a minute after the door closed behind the two scientists, Duo said softly, "You can stop the massage any time now, Blue Eyes."

Startled prussian-blue eyes looked down and saw laughing violets looking back at him. Blushing an interesting shade of red, the one called Blue Eyes stopped moving his hands and blurted, "I didn't realize you were awake."

Duo chuckled softly as he moved so his head was resting on the other boy's shoulder. Snuggling up against the other boy he said, "G's arrival woke me up. Did I hear him say something about food?"

Tightening his hold on the younger boy, Blue Eyes answered, "Yes. It's over on the desk. Can I … ask … you something before we go get it?"

"Sure," Duo replied, smiling at the hesitantly asked question.

"I know I haven't been real talkative or anything since I got here," Blue Eyes started, then grinned when he heard a mumbled "No kidding!" from near his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just … don't find it easy to talk about things that have nothing to do with our training."

"Go on," Duo urged after a couple moments of silence. "You're doing fine so far."

"So far?" Blue Eyes laughed in a self-deprecating fashion. "Duo, before I make a total fool of myself, let me tell you that I find you intriguing, thought provoking, beautiful, and I want to get to know you a lot better."

Duo looked at him in surprise. /# _Did he just say what I thought he said? Does this mean … _#/

Duo's thoughts were interrupted as the other boy continued, "Now to make an utter fool of myself. Duo, I've been told that you know about our race and the need to bond." At Duo's slight nod, he continued even more hesitantly, "Would you do me the honor of becoming my mate?"

Duo reached up and gently placed a hand against the other boy's cheek, turning his head so he could look into those deep blue eyes as he replied, "Only a fool does not fear rejection, Blue Eyes. Unite us in heart and mind. We are both training to be soldiers, after all. If we both survive this war, we can re-evaluate the situation."

"Thank you," the older boy murmured as he turned his head to place a light kiss on the palm of the hand that had been touching his cheek. Then gracing his companion with a smile, he questioned, "Are you ready to eat now?"

"Yeah," Duo replied, starting to sit up, but found himself restrained.

"Stay put. I'll go get the tray," Blue Eyes said, slowly, almost reluctantly, removing his arm from around Duo before getting off the bed. He quickly walked over to the desk, picked up the tray and returned to the bed.

As they were eating Duo asked, "G told me about the bonding and the reasons behind it, but he didn't tell me what was done to create the bond. Do **you** know what we have to do?"

"He couldn't tell you because each time it's different, even when going from a partial to a full bond," came the quiet reply after a moment of silence while J's trainee finished chewing and swallowed what was in his mouth. "The sire takes the lead but both parties have their say. The formula for the bond is a spoken rhyme made up during the bonding. It's supposed to just come to you, or something, J told me."

"Oh. So when do you want to do our bonding?"

"When you've finished eating, if that's alright with you," came the reply, with no sign of thought or hesitancy.

"**That** soon?" Duo exclaimed, dropping the piece of fruit he'd been about to put in his mouth.

Picking up Duo's dropped piece of fruit, the older boy smiled, "**That** soon, if you want. Open up!" and he placed the fruit against Duo's lips; half wanting those lips to touch his fingers, half fearful of the same.

Duo looked into those deep blue eyes, searching for something but not sure what – truth, longing, acceptance of him, or something else he didn't know how to define. Seeing only fearful, but hopeful, longing shining at him, Duo smiled and gently took the offered piece of fruit, gently tasting the fingers holding it, before they let the fruit piece go.

Between the two of them they finished everything on the tray in half an hour. J's trainee took the tray back to the desk, and then made a detour to his dresser before returning to the bed where Duo was waiting, watching curiously.

When he was settled once again on the bed, J's trainee put his hands and what he'd picked up from the dresser in his lap. Staring down at his lap, while blushing a faint pink, he asked hesitantly, "Can I … may I … brush your hair?" After stumbling over the words he looked up through his bangs at Duo, waiting anxiously for the other boy's reply.

Duo didn't say a word as he slowly sat up, facing the other boy. He reached out and gently tilted his companion's head up so that he could look into his eyes. He seemed to hesitate, considering what he wanted to say. Evidently, what he saw in the other boy's brilliant blue eyes reassured him because he started to smile before pulling his hand back, turning around and undoing his braid.

Not a word was spoken as J's trainee slowly brushed all the knots out. By the time he had all the knots and snarls brushed out, Duo was about ready to topple over due to extreme muscle relaxation. Putting the brush down and keeping his voice to a bare whisper, J's trainee started the bonding vow, not knowing exactly what would come out.

"Whisper soft," to which Duo replied without even thinking, "Whisper low." The next three lines were split between them as well, in the same manner; J's trainee started the line and Duo ended it.

Voices gentle, touches slow  
Heart and mind, join begun  
Joyful bond, two are one.

As he finished speaking, Duo leaned back against J's trainee, who gently wrapped his arms around Duo before resting his head on Duo's shoulder. After a peaceful moment Blue Eyes turned his head just enough to gently kiss Duo on the lips.

"We should get some sleep," Duo said around a yawn. "This won't change what we're scheduled to do in the morning." To which he received, not a word, but a gentle pull in the direction of the mattress, which he obeyed quite willingly.

Soon the two were stretched out on the bed with Duo using J's trainee for a pillow again, his arm lightly lying across the boy's rib cage. J's trainee was on his back, his arms wrapped around Duo and his chin lightly touching the top of Duo's head. Duo's unbound hair rested on top of the blanket they had pulled to Duo's chin, creating a second blanket. Neither boy stirred until the alarm sounded in the morning, beginning their first full day as a bonded couple. Neither boy really knowing what to expect from the bond, or each other.


	11. Saying Goodbye

Thank you to those of you who have sent me comments.

Chapter Summary: Time to say goodbye for now; poor boys.

/$ blah $/ J's thoughts  
/# blah #/ G's thoughts  
/$ _blah_ $/ J's trainee's thoughts  
/# _blah_ #/ Duo's thoughts

* * *

J's trainee woke first the next morning. He lay in the bed without moving; enjoying the feeling of being used as a pillow. His mind wandered back to the previous evening. Had it really happened? Was he really bonded to the one sharing his bed or was it just a dream? He wished Duo would wake up so he could verify his memories, but he wasn't about to disturb the other boy just to satisfy his own curiosity.

He was therefore quite startled to hear "Morning, Blue Eyes" coming from somewhere around his shoulder.

"Uh … morning Duo," he stuttered in reply. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Not really," Duo replied around a yawn. "It's about time for us to get up anyway." Lifting his head off the comfortable shoulder, Duo took a good, long look at his companion. "Is something bothering you, Blue Eyes?"

"Uhm … yea … kinda," came the hesitant reply from a now blushing boy.

"And what would that be?" Duo asked as he sat up.

"Last night," J's trainee answered. "Did it really happen? Are we really bonded? Or did I just dream it?"

"Yep, it happened," Duo replied with a slight smile. "If you dreamed it, so did I. Now, although it is quite comfortable here next to you, we need to get up if we want to eat before we go to the simulation room."

The only reply Duo received to that statement was his current pillow getting off the bed. Duo watched for a minute before moving off the bed himself. "As soon as you're ready, we'll go to my bunk so I can change then we'll go get some food."

Less than a minute later a hand grabbed Duo's arm and started to pull him towards the door. "Let's go. You need your food."

And so began their first day as a bonded couple. Breakfast was quiet, as Duo was still waking up. The morning was spent first in the simulation room and then in the classroom, studying. The two boys touched as often as they could the whole morning, and Duo wasn't the one doing most of it.

They were joined at lunch time by the two professors. "How are you boys doing today?" G asked as he and J sat down across from them.

Duo poked his companion in the side, indicating that he should be the one to answer. For all his effort Duo only got a glare, so he answered the question with a question of his own. "How should we be?"

"You seem to be …" G started, but couldn't find an appropriate word to finish his statement.

"Calmer? Less tense?" J's trainee supplied helpfully.

"Those will do, I suppose," G agreed. "Duo seems to be a bit calmer this morning than usual. I can't say much about you, young sire."

"He does seem a little less tense this morning," J agreed. "So they must have partially bonded last night." /$ Good. He'll be able to control himself now. I'll have the perfect weapon in no time. $/

"You realize this will not be allowed to interfere with your training," G stated as they continued eating. /# Even though I wish we could give you more time together in a relaxed setting. #/

"Yeah, we know," Duo sighed gustily, while J's trainee just nodded once.

The group finished lunch and left the room. G and Duo went to the computer lab while J and his trainee went to the classroom, where both boys were tested on what they had been studying that morning. After finishing their tests the boys were put to work on putting together parts of the gundam G was building until dinner time; after which they had study time until bedtime. This schedule repeated the next day as well.

The morning J and his trainee were to leave arrived too soon for three of the four. Duo and J's trainee wanted more time together and J wanted more actual one-on-one time with his mate. G, on the other hand, couldn't wait for J to leave.

G and J were standing near the door to the shuttle watching the two boys as they said their goodbyes.

"Has there been any progress on the search for our fifth son?" J asked, without looking away from the two boys.

"He might have been at the Maxwell Church when it was destroyed," G answered, turning slightly to see his mate's reaction to the statement. /# Let's see what happens if you think our son is truly dead. #/

J turned, startled, to look at his mate. "Have you confirmed he was there? Wasn't there a survivor?" /$ He's got to be kidding. He can't be serious. Is he trying to say that he has definite proof that our son is dead? $/

G smiled inside while keeping his outer expression neutral. /# He's worried. Good. Serves him right. I think I'll withhold the information that points to Duo. Let him wonder. #/ G turned back towards the boys as he answered J. "Yes, a single survivor. As for confirmation, we were able to place him at the church a couple months before the massacre, but we lost all track of him after that point."

/$ He's hiding something, but I never have been able to get him to tell me something when he doesn't want to. It's a shame we never got close enough to be able to hear each other's thoughts – his fault, not mine. $/ J turned to watch the two boys as well before continuing with his questions. "Your boy was at that church, wasn't he? Could he have known our son? Isn't he the survivor of the massacre?"

"Yes," G replied after a moment. "Duo is the sole survivor of that massacre. He refuses to talk about it, or of what happened during the plague. All he'll say is that they, the ones who died, are his reason to fight."

"Have you done a paternity test on the boy? I didn't see any record of it in his records," J continued his interrogation. /$ Maybe if I keep asking questions, he'll slip and let something through. $/

/# He's digging. He won't get anything more from me on this subject though. #/ Without answering G started moving away from his mate. "Time to interrupt their goodbye or you'll miss your launch window."

/$ I don't believe this. He ignored my question. There must be something in the paternity test he doesn't want me to know. Could the boy he's training be our son? It would be just like him to keep that from me. $/ J thought as he followed his mate.

"Looks like times up Blue Eyes," Duo sighed as he spotted G and J heading their way.

"Hn," J's trainee replied, pulling his mate closer while thinking /$ _NO! Not yet! I'm not ready to leave yet. Wait! What am I thinking? What has happened to me?_ $/

"You can loosen your grip a little, Blue Eyes," Duo gasped, smiling up at his mate to soften the complaint. "I'm not going to let you go just yet. I haven't gotten a goodbye kiss yet." /# _I wish he didn't have to go yet. I want more time with him._ #/

"Sorry," J's trainee said, loosening his hold a little but not enough to let Duo put any space between their bodies. He didn't want to lose the pleasant feeling of having Duo pressed against him from neck to knee just yet. He had no idea why it felt so good, but he was loathe to him go.

"That's ok," Duo sighed, resting his head on the other boy's shoulder. "I don't think you're strong enough to break me in half. I'm gonna miss you, Blue Eyes."

"They're here, Duo," J's trainee whispered, not wanting the two scientists to hear what he was going to say. "I think I'll miss you too. I hope our bond strengthens to the point we can keep in touch without technology."

"Boys, it's time for J and his trainee to leave," G interrupted the two teens. "Finish saying your goodbyes."

Before Duo could say anything J's trainee turned Duos' head and started a gentle goodbye kiss. Duo responded quickly and, although the kiss stayed gentle in nature, it continued far longer than the two scientists thought it should.

"Time to go boy," J said, roughly taking hold of the pair and separating them. "That's enough of that. You'll see each other again." /$ But not before I've trained this emotional nonsense out of you. $/

J made his way to the shuttle, dragging his reluctant trainee behind him; his trainee looking longingly back at Duo where he stood beside G.

As J pulled his trainee into the shuttle G turned to Duo and said, "We need to leave the shuttle bay now. You'll see him again." /# He may not be the same. You may have to break his training to get this version of him back. #/

As the two left the shuttle bay G said, "We have some work ahead of us if you plan on being a **true** master of stealth."

Duo jerked his head back around, startled; he'd been trying to catch a last glimpse of his mate. "What do you mean by that? I can already slip past anything the Alliance can come up with."

"True," G agreed with a slight smirk. "But that's because all the sires and bearers on this colony are too smart to be recruited into the Alliance military. However, that will not be the case once you reach Earth."

"So we're gonna find a way to block that tell-tale feeling," Duo grinned in return before starting to practically run towards the lab area of the ship. "Come on Doc. Let's hurry up and get this project started. We don't have much time after all." 


	12. Those odd feelings

Thank you to those of you who have sent me comments.

Spoilers: This chapter hints at Heero's flashback in Endless Waltz.

Chapter Summary: Something has happened to J's trainee, so J and his trainee go to visit G and Duo to see if Duo can help.

/$ blah blah $/ J's thoughts  
/# blah blah #/ G's thoughts

* * *

One year later 

"Two visits in two years. What is the problem **now** J?" G sighed as he sent a reply email acknowledging the visit and sending the coordinates for where they would be for the next week. "What could be wrong with your boy now? I guess I should have Duo stop practicing for now. I don't want J finding out about our little trick yet."

G left his office and headed for the bay where they were building the gundam, figuring that was where Duo would be at this time of day. He smiled, thinking about how the boy had taken over most of the designing and programming of the gundam. Howard and the rest of the Sweepers had adopted the boy and had taught him everything they could; and pointed him towards books and websites when they couldn't answer his questions.

G's smile grew bigger as he stepped into the bay and caught sight of Duo explaining something to a couple of technicians using his entire body in the explanation – arms waving, body constantly moving around whatever the object being explained was. G couldn't help feeling proud as he watched the technicians nod in understanding and take the part over to the gundam while Duo headed his way.

"Hi Doc. What brings you down here at this time? You don't usually come down here until after dinner," Duo queried as he came up to G.

"I received a message from my mate," G answered while indicating they should leave the bay. "He and his trainee are coming for a visit. They'll be here tomorrow."

Duo took a closer look at G; something didn't ring true in his mind, something was off. "What else? There's something about this visit you haven't told me."

G sighed but still answered as the two entered his office. "J didn't go into detail. He said something happened on the latest training mission, something that has upset his trainee very badly."

"Well that explains it," Duo sighed, flopping into a chair at the table.

"What explains what?" G asked, sitting down across the table from Duo.

"The odd feelings I've been having recently," Duo replied in a distracted tone. "I know they're not my feelings, but I can't figure out why he'd be feeling that way."

"You're sharing his feelings?" G questioned, surprised that the link between the two boys was that strong with them having had no contact since they bonded a year ago.

"Well, yeah," Duo replied, playing nervously with his braid. "I've been able to feel his emotions, off and on, for almost a year now. It's not constant. Should it be?"

"Only if you had been in constant contact for the whole time since you bonded," G answered. "Your bond is stronger than I expected. I've been told by others that even with constant contact the pair shouldn't be constantly feeling one another's emotions for at least three years, during which time the ability to hear the other in your mind will be very erratic, most likely non-existent."

"Oh," Duo said, looking very disappointed. "Is it possible to be able to learn how to hear each other sooner? Could we learn to talk to each other, even if we don't spend a lot of time together?"

"Anything is possible," G replied thoughtfully. "Remember that day when we figured out how to block that tell-tale feeling? We'd already spent ten months trying to figure that out."

"I remember thinking we'd never figure out how to do that," Duo stated. "I guess if we could figure that out, it's possible to form the kind of link I'm talking about without being together for long periods of time."

"Speaking of that blocking technique, I'd like you to not practice while they're here. I don't want J to know about that yet," G said.

"Okay," Duo agreed. "Does this mean no telling your mate's trainee either?"

"Not at this time," G answered. "Maybe after you're both on Earth. I just don't think J needs to know about this skill. He'd try to find some way to turn it into a weapon."

"Sure thing, Doc. No talking about the new blocking skill, or practicing it, while your mate and his trainee are here," Duo agreed, standing and preparing to leave. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to get back to Deathscythe. I've got to check on what they were starting when I left."

"Go ahead. I'll let you know when to be at the shuttle bay to greet them," G dismissed him, moving to his desk where he had some paper work that needed to be completed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, on L1, J finished reading his mate's reply. "Maybe the boy's mate will be able to help him. Something has to, before Barton comes sticking his nose in my business again."

A quiet knock sounded on his door, interrupting his train of thought. He called out for whoever it was to enter. A moment later the boy he'd been thinking about entered his office and closed the door behind him.

"How are you today?" J inquired.

He received no response other than shrugged shoulders.

"I've received a reply from my mate," J commented, eliciting a raised eyebrow enquiry from the one now standing in front of his desk. "He provided the coordinates of where their ship is currently located. We'll be leaving here first thing in the morning."

His trainee just nodded, once.

"I'll see you at 0700 hours in the shuttle bay. Be packed for at least one week," J said, waving the young man to go ahead and leave. /$ I hope this works. I don't know what else to do at this point. $/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Next evening, while G and Duo stood waiting outside the door to the shuttle bay, the discussion about what to do for Duo's mate continued.

"I've got sandwiches, drinks, and fruit on the desk in my room," Duo stated, relaxing against the wall across from the door. "I also managed to save some of that chocolate from the last shipment. Do you think he might like some? I don't have a lot left."

"We won't know about that until you let him try it," G replied. "Have you thought of any ideas to help him yet?"

"Not really," Duo answered, his customary smile slipping. "I think I'll just play it by ear. I'm sure I'll figure something out. How long will they be here?"

"A week, or more, depending," J answered, startling them both. Reaching back through the door to pull his rather reluctant trainee into the hallway, he continued, "You'd think you'd be thrilled to be seeing your mate but all you've done today is drag your feet. Come on boy. Get a move on."

As the reluctant boy came through the doorway Duo was overwhelmed with feelings; not a one of them his and not a one of them good either. Trying hard to hide the fact that he could barely stay standing, Duo pushed off the wall. Moving towards his mate, he said, "This may be harder than I thought Doc. We'll see you tomorrow sometime. I'm not sure when though." Grabbing hold of the other boy's arm, Duo dragged him off before either of the older men could respond.

"Do you think your boy will be able to do something for my boy?" J asked G as they started down the hall in the same direction the two boys had gone.

"I'd be very surprised if he didn't manage something," G answered but finished the statement only in his head /# although it may not be what you're expecting or wanting. #/


	13. What happened?

Thank you to those of you who have sent me comments.

Chapter Summary: What are the boys gonna do now? How can Duo help his blue-eyed mate?

/# _blah blah_ #/ Duo's thoughts

* * *

Duo barely managed to get the two of them to his room before he collapsed from the painful emotional overload coming from his mate; who barely managed to keep Duo from kissing the floor, even though they both ended up there anyway. 

"Duo?" J's trainee queried quietly. "Duo? Are you ok? What's wrong?"

"Blue Eyes," Duo whispered with his face pressed to the other boy's chest, "you're gonna be the death of me one of these days. I'm ok, just try not to overwhelm me with your emotions again." Duo wrapped his arms around the other's waist, squeezed once then let go and stood up. Holding his hand out for the other boy to take, he said, "Come on. Let's get comfortable. Then you can tell me what happened. After that, we'll decide what to do, together."

Taking the offered hand, J's trainee stood up. Once standing, Duo dragged them both to the desk – to grab some food and drinks – and then to the bed. Once they were both settled on the bed and had started eating the food they had chosen, Duo spoke.

"G told me we shouldn't be able to know how each other feels for at least another year or two, according to his sources. He said we must have a really strong bond to be able to sense how the other is feeling this soon with so little contact since our bonding. I don't really care about what he and his sources say. Right now, all I know is you're hurting, and have been for the last few weeks, and I want to know why. What happened?"

"Why?"

"Because we're supposed to be partners buddy," Duo replied, wanting to reach out and smack the other boy upside the head. "We're bonded mates aren't we? Doesn't that mean we're supposed to help each other?"

J's trainee hung his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

Reaching over, Duo gently raised his mate's chin to the point where he could see the other boy's eyes and said, "I don't care if you want to talk about it or not. We **are** going to talk about it, and you are gonna get past it, with my help – whether you want it or not. Do you understand?"

"Why?" J's trainee asked again, trying very hard to not meet Duo's eyes.

Returning his hand to his food, Duo replied, "Because if we don't, one or the other of us is not gonna make it through training; most likely me. You inability to deal with this situation on your own is causing me difficulties in concentrating, and I can't afford that right now. I have a gundam to finish building and programming, as well as missions to accomplish, and the erratic nature of your emotional control is messing up **my** control."

Duo let that sink in while he finished off his snack. When the other boy made no comment on what he had said, Duo decided to continue. "If you don't want to tell me everything that happened, you can just summarize it … like in a mission report. I need to have some idea of what happened to cause you to feel these negative emotions as strongly as you do. Alright?"

J's trainee thought about what Duo had said while he finished his snack, gathered their trash and threw it away. When he returned to the bed, he settled himself in the same position he had the year before (right before he'd asked Duo to bond with him) and pulled Duo over to him, silently asking Duo to stretch out beside him. Once they were both settled, with J's trainee sliding one hand up and down Duo's braid, J's trainee sighed and started speaking. "It was a destroy-the-base mission. I'd snuck in, in broad daylight, and planted the bombs I would be setting off that night – to minimize civilian casualties. I made it in and out without being caught. While I was waiting for night to fall, I decided to relax in the park next to the base. I met a little girl and her dog. She talked to me for a couple minutes before they ran off. I detonated the bombs as planned but one of the exploding suits caused another suit to fall outside the base onto a civilian apartment building."

As his mate paused in his story Duo raised a hand and placed it gently on the other boy's cheek. "Enough. I've heard enough to figure out what happened, and why you're having so much trouble. Why don't you try to get some sleep? You look like you could use it. While you're sleeping I'll try to come up with a way to help you get past this, or at least be able to deal with it better. Okay?"

A soft "Thank you" was all Duo heard before the other boy fell asleep. He lay there thinking for about ten minutes before the steady breathing and heartbeat of his partner lulled him to sleep as well. It didn't last long.

Duo woke to the sound of soft crying, like someone didn't want anyone to hear them. He raised his head enough to see the tears on his mate's face. He wasn't sure if the other boy was awake or not, as his eyes were still closed. He vaguely remembered dreaming of a base blowing up and seeing a mobile suit falling towards a building outside the base. /# _Is this what actually happened, or is it just my imagination painting a picture? Only one way to really find out, but that isn't possible at this point in time, or is it?_ #/ Duo wondered but put it all aside as the crying increased and the body below him started moving.

"Blue Eyes, hey, Blue Eyes," Duo called softly but insistently. "Blue Eyes, come on buddy, wake up."

A gentle tug on his braid stopped Duo from repeating himself a fourth time. Looking at Duo were watery blue eyes filled with pain. Gently wiping away the last of the tears, Duo once again thought about the images of his dream, unconsciously broadcasting them to whomever could see them.

A gently spoken "Yes, that is what happened," interrupted his review.

"What?" he squawked in surprise.

"I said," J's trainee answered quietly, "that those images you just saw in your mind were actual images from what happened on that mission."

"How did you know what I saw?" Duo asked. "And how did I get them in the first place?"

"It would appear that your instructor was right about our bond," came the softly spoken reply. "It appears that if we are in contact with each other, we can inadvertently read each other's mind. I was dreaming about that mission again. You most likely picked up on it in your own dreams. Then, when you were thinking about your dream, I saw it again but it wasn't as clear, as though it was seen through a dirty window or something."

"So, not only can we sense each other's emotions, we can now sense each other's thoughts?" Duo questioned, rhetorically. "And here I was, just yesterday, wondering if we could develop the ability to talk with each other over major distances."

"That," J's trainee hesitated, "might be a good idea. It would certainly help to keep me from those negative thoughts and emotions I've been having lately."

"Then that is what we shall do," Duo said. "We shall work on strengthening our abilities, thereby rebuilding your self-confidence and increasing our chances of being able to help the other no matter the distance between us. However," Duo paused to yawn, "we need to get some more sleep before we attempt anything. Go back to sleep Blue Eyes."

As he put his head back down on the other boy's shoulder, Duo thought he heard his mate say something that sounded like "I just may be able to tonight."


	14. Dang OZ

Spoilers: This chapter starts the series.

Chapter Summary: Heero's first couple days on earth, ending with the invitation to Relena's birthday party.

$- _blah_ -$ Duo thinking to Heero  
#- _blah_ -# Heero thinking to Duo  
/# _blah_ #/ Heero's private thoughts  
(+ _blah_ +) Relena's thoughts

* * *

The fight with the Alliance suits was over. His gundam was on the bottom of the ocean. He was exhausted from the fight and the swim to the beach. The sand was warm, and soft. Without removing his helmet, he fell asleep. 

It wasn't too long before some girl was kneeling beside him, trying to wake him. She took off his helmet. The exposure to cool ocean air caused him to wake. Not sure of the situation, he jumped up, placing an arm in front of his face; trying to hide.

"Don't try to move. The ambulance is almost here," the kneeling girl stated in a reassuring tone of voice.

"Did you see?" the blue-eyed boy asked from behind his hand.

"See what?" the girl asked as the ambulance pulled up.

As the ambulance crew scrambled to get down to the sand, the blue-eyed boy tried to activate his spacesuit's self-destruct; which, in theory, would also trigger his mobile suit's self-destruct. It didn't work. All it did was throw him backwards about ten feet where he landed on his butt.

He quickly regained his feet and ran to the stairs which the ambulance crew was just starting down. Quickly running up the stairs, the blue-eyed boy knocked the three men off the stairs and stole the ambulance; after kicking a fourth guy out of it.

As she watched the ambulance drive away the young girl introduced herself, to no one, as Relena Darlian.

Inside the ambulance the blue-eyed boy was cursing vehemently. What was he going to do now? His suit was at the bottom of the ocean and some female civilian had seen his face.

$- _Are you having problems Blue Eyes?_ -$ came a laughter-tinged thought from his mate.

#-_ Stupid OZ suits. I had to deal with three of them as I entered the atmosphere. My suit is at the bottom of the ocean and I've now got some female civilian pestering me._ -# Blue Eyes sent back.

$-_ That's not really enough to cause that kind of reaction, at least not in **my** book._ -$ Duo replied. $- _Want me to get your suit for you? I could be in the area in less than 24 hours._ -$

#- _No. I'm going to destroy it. I'm going to get some missiles from the base and shoot them at the suit to activate the detonation device. Now, go about your own business, Duo. I'll contact you later._ -#

$- _Sure thing buddy_ -$ came the reply before he felt Duo disappear from his mind.

The next morning the blue-eyed boy stood in front of Relena's class and introduced himself, "Heero Yuy. It's a pleasure." He took the seat the teacher indicated and proceeded to ignore the girl sitting next to him.

- + - + - + - +

Heero had gone outside to get away from all those idiot females, especially the one that had found him on the beach. He wanted to try and contact his mate but wasn't sure that was a good idea. He **needed** to figure out what to do about his gundam, the girl who had found him, this war – did he really want to continue fighting?

He leaned against the railing, letting the warmth of the sun and the slight breeze blow all his thoughts and cares away. Peaceful, quiet.

Too bad it didn't last as long as he had wanted. He heard footsteps approaching. It was that girl from the beach again. What was her name? Relena, yeah that was it. Darlian's daughter. Spoiled little thing. Why was she bothering him? Hadn't he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her during class by ignoring her?

/# _At least her groupies aren't coming over here with her._ #/ Heero thought as he watched her approach and thrust an envelope at him.

"Here you go," Relena said, waiting until Heero had taken the envelope. "It's my birthday tomorrow. I hope you'll be able to make it to the party." At which point her fan club burst into applause while she smiled at Heero.

Instead of being polite and saying no thank you to her, Heero ripped the envelope in half and let the pieces drop to the ground, smirking inwardly as he heard Relena gasp and at the faint echoes of his mate's laughter. #- _What are you laughing at, Duo?_ -#

$- _Your fan girl. You better be careful or she'll be following you everywhere._ -$ came the laughter-tinged reply.

Looking straight at the stunned girl, Heero sent back #- _I hope not, but even if she does, you know you have no reason to doubt me. She's already annoying me. Any suggestions?_ -#

$- _I know Blue Eyes, and I trust you. I have no ideas for you; maybe threaten to kill her. Gotta go. Got a mission, of sorts._ -$

The slight feeling of being watched was gone but Heero could still sense his mate's feelings. He watched as the girl turned away and clenched her fists in what he believed to be anger.

Relena, trying to keep from crying, asked, "But … but why …?"

/# _This is gonna be good for a laugh at least. Let's see if I can scare her._ #/ Heero thought as he raised his right hand to wipe the tears from Relena's face, flicking them away as he started to walk past her.

(+ _He likes me. It was just a misunderstanding._ +) Relena smiled, watching as he started to walk past her. But that smile changed to shock as Heero slowed and stated, just loud enough for only her to hear, "I'll kill you."

Heero walked on but before he was out of hearing range he heard Relena ask, "What kind of person is he?" Laughing inwardly, since he wouldn't want to let her know he'd heard her, he continued to his room. /# _I'll have something funny to tell Duo tonight at least. She really needs to get out in the real world. What was Darlian thinking, raising her like that?_ #/

* * *

This looks sooooo much better in color. You can tell who's thinking what to who a lot easier. Too bad this site isn't letting me use my original intentions. 


	15. Oh Ship!

Thank you to those of you who have sent me comments.

Chapter Summary: The scene where Duo shoots Heero. Enough said.

$- blah -$ Duo thinking to Heero  
#- blah -# Heero thinking to Duo  
/$ _blah_ $/ Duo's private thoughts  
/# _blah_ #/ Heero's private thoughts  
(+ _blah_ +) Relena's thoughts

AN: We know who they are, but, as of this time, they don't know. Just to make it easier on me – not having to come up with descriptions from the other point of view – I'll just go ahead and use their names. Also, all spoken text came from the subtitles on the DVDs.

* * *

Stone-faced, Heero rose from inside the submarine as three torpedoes lowered towards the submarine's deck. /# _What is **she** doing here?_ #/ he thought upon hearing Relena call his name.

$- Maybe she thinks she can get you to stop whatever you're doing. -$ Duo's voice echoed clearly inside Heero's head.

#- I hope not. I have to complete this mission -# Heero sent back in reply, hearing Relena walking across the gang plank.

"So it **is** you, Heero," Relena said as she continued walking towards him. Seeing the torpedoes that he was preparing to launch she said, "No, Heero. Don't do it."

/# What _does she think I'm gonna do? Just a few more … what the!_ #/ Heero thought as she walked up behind him and cried out to him.

"Heero, what are you doing? Tell me! Who are you anyway? Those are torpedoes, right? I can tell! I want to know who you are. Talk to me, Heero!" (+ _If he'd talk to me I could convince him to come with me back to my place and maybe get him into my bed._ +)

/# _What is with this girl? I'm not going to tell her who I am; and of **course** those are torpedoes. What else would I use to destroy my gundam? I'll try it again. Maybe this time, with a gun in her face, she'll believe me._ #/ Smirking inwardly at that thought, Heero turned to look back at Relena, figuring out exactly where she was at so he could aim his gun in the correct direction. Ascertaining where she was at he started, "Relena …"

Seeing she had what she thought was his adoring attention, Relena smiled and interrupted with a loudly sighed, "Heero …"

/# _Yuck!_ #/ Heero thought as he finished turning towards her. Raising his gun so that it was aimed at her he continued, as if she hadn't interrupted, "You're in too deep." Laughing inside as he heard her frightened gasp and watched her rock back in surprise he finished, "Good-bye Relena." He began to pull the trigger to shoot her but another gunshot was heard, coming from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw a bullet heading right for his arm, too late for him to move away from it.

$- What are you doing Blue Eyes? -$

#- I'm trying to shoot this pesky female, but someone just shot at me. -# Heero sighed inwardly as he dropped his gun and fell to the deck, rolling to face the direction the shot had come from.

Relena, having figured out that the shot hadn't hit her, lowered her arms. She looked around, trying to spot Heero, and finally found him on the deck. She cried his name as he finally managed to get to his knees.

Grunting in pain, and at the amount effort it took, Heero raised his head, looked in the direction the shot had come from and asked "Who are you!"

The guy Heero was looking at was dressed in all black and wearing a baseball cap low over his face so no one could see his eyes clearly. Instead of answering Heero's question the boy readjusted his stance, keeping Heero in his sights, and said "It's pretty obvious that you're the bad guy here. Are you all right, lady?"

Instead of answering the unknown fellow, Relena moved towards Heero and asked "Heero! Are you okay!"

Ignoring Relena, Heero tried to get his gun. The unknown fellow, his long braid flying behind him as he moved, shot the gun out of Heero's reach, injuring Heero's right leg at the same time. #- Ouch! This guy has incredible aim with his gun. -# Heero thought as he fell to the deck once more and watched as the boy with the braid approached him.

"Don't overdo it; remember, you're injured," the boy with the braid, Duo, stated as he approached the boy in the green tank top, who he could tell was a member of his race, a sire to be exact. Not knowing it was his mate he'd shot at, he responded to his mate's statement with $- Why don't you give up? He won't keep shooting if you stay down. -$

Heero tried to get up on his feet again. #- Not a chance. I can't fail this mission. -#

Just then Relena stepped between Heero and his assailant. (+ _If I get this guy to stop shooting, I'll be able to help Heero and he'll thank me by becoming my boyfriend._ +) Holding her arms out, as if to block Heero from sight, she cried at the other boy, "Stop it! Why do you wanna shoot him!"

"Wait a minute," Duo said in confusion as he watched Relena tear her skirt and start wrapping Heero's arm and leg. Lowering his gun, he raised his free hand to his head, still confused and asked aloud, more to himself than to the other two on the deck, "Great! How did I end up the bad guy here?"

Just then an alarm went off. Duo lowered his arm and looked at what appeared to be a watch on his wrist and muttered, "It's already risen this high. Must've miscalculated the tide," and then looked towards the open water where two gundams could barely be seen.

Relena also looked toward the open water. She had finished bandaging Heero and had turned to look at the unknown boy just in time to see him turn to look at the sea. "What in the world is that?"

Before she could get a good look she was blinded by a bright light. The light was accompanied by the voice of the boy holding the light. "Don't look. Lady, I'm sure you have your reasons for being here … but you'd better just leave. Do yourself a favor."

As Relena tried to block the light, Heero took off for the torpedoes. His move drew Duo's attention, who shouted, "Haven't had enough!" while he fired several shots at Heero as he jumped onto the torpedoes.

From on top of the torpedoes Heero called out, "So it IS my mobile suit!" He then slammed his fist on the ignition control of the torpedoes. As the torpedoes headed for the open water, and the gundams heading towards shore, Heero flew backwards towards the water.

Disbelief in his voice Duo cried out, "What are you doing, fool!" which echoed strangely in Heero's mind as if it had been cried out mentally as well.

Just before hitting the water Heero said, "Finally, everything is finished. Mission, complete." He hit the water and passed out just as the torpedoes reached the gundams and exploded.

As the bright light of the explosion spread on the horizon, Duo cried out, "No!" but whether it was for the boy now passed out face down in the water or the sinking gundams is unknown. He looked down at the water where Heero floated and muttered, "Damn it. He knows Gundanium's impact tolerance. Which means he's the pilot of the mobile suit." Taking a step towards the edge of the deck he thought /$ _Uh-oh! That's got to be Blue Eyes down there. This is not gonna be good, especially when he finds out it was me shooting at him._ $/

Relena, still in shock over what she'd just witnessed, quietly asked, "Who are these guys?"


End file.
